


The Marvelous Duo

by cosmicstring



Category: Mario & Luigi RPG (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 12:01:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17939297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicstring/pseuds/cosmicstring
Summary: The meeting of the infamous Shadow Thief and his strangely familiar amnesiac Rookie.





	The Marvelous Duo

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this months ago but decided to touch it up a bit and post it here. This is a retelling of their canonical meeting from SS:HD but with some liberties taken. I may write more if I feel like it but don't quote me on that because I'm very bad at following up on things. Enjoy!

"STOP! THIEEEF!!!"

The Shadow Thief had made his next strike. Now came the escape.

The Shadow Thief was actually a plucky-looking Beanish fellow who went by the name of Popple. He was quite short, even for a Beanbean native, but what he lacked in height he made up for in his skill as the greatest bandit in the world! ...So he liked to think. The truth was, the Shadow Thief had yet to really break into the world of crime. While he had been at his dastardly ways for awhile now, he had never really gotten the chance to go beyond petty theft, and today was no different. He had been loitering around a locally-owned convenience store before he had swiped a bunch of food while the owner had his back turned. Now, he was making a run for it.

"SOMEBODY _STOP HIM!_ " the older bean cried. Popple looked behind him to see the owner running towards him, waving his arms around and making a scene. Maybe striking in the middle of the day wasn't the best idea, but he was pretty hungry and he was NOT about to get a real job. He couldn't stop himself from grinning as the man chasing him got further and further away. If there was one thing he was good at, it was running, even when his arms were full of stolen bean products. Though, while he ran, Popple had made one big mistake he had not taken into account until it was too late.

He wasn't watching where he was going.

Popple hit the ground with a thud, dazing him for a few seconds. He sat up on his knees, rubbing his head. What a rookie mistake, what had he even tripped on? He looked over to see a big monstrous turtle-looking guy just... laying on his back in the middle of the road. Not only that, he was eating all the food Popple dropped when he fell. Popple groaned, no time to mourn that loss. He got up to his feet and just kept running. However, when he looked behind himself again, the monster turtle guy had gotten up and was following him.

"Hey! You! Stop following me!" Popple said to the turtle, slowing to a stop. "I've got places to be, see?"

The turtle guy just stared at him blankly and moaned " _Foooood..._ ". Popple shook his head.

"There you are!" Someone shouted. "GET BACK HERE!" It was the store owner he had just stolen from.

"Yikes! That's my cue!" Popple squeaked. Thinking quickly, he ran to the banister of the cliffside and nimbly jumped off, holding onto his hat as he fell downwards at alarming speeds, seemingly disappearing into a waterfall. What the poor fool didn't know, was that there was a hollowed out area behind this particular waterfall that Popple had set up a temporary residence in. He would have to abandon it after the coast was clear, but man, that was cool. He could hear the bean crying out to him the whole way down until he rolled onto the ground, sustaining minor injuries when his body collided with the cave's rock floor. When he stopped rolling, he laid down on his back, limbs spread out and his chest rising and falling rapidly. He ignored the stinging he felt, instead quietly giggling in between his laboured breaths. Sure, he ended up empty handed because of that stupid monster-turtle, but he'd never get tired of this.

Popple barely had time to react before the overgrown reptile from outside collided with his tiny frame, momentarily pinning him against the rock wall before the turtle guy rolled onto his back. Again, Popple found the sense knocked out of him. If he wasn't Beanish, he 100% would've broken a bone there. Thankfully, the natives of the Beanbean kingdom were known for their above average durability. All it took was a quick shake of the head and he came back to his senses. He looked over to his side to confirm that yep, that stupid turtle guy who had messed up his plans had now followed him here. Popple was seeing red.

" _You!_ What's your problem, huh? Are ya mocking me?!" Popple got up, rolling up his sleeves and taking a fighting stance. Normally he'd rather avoid combat, but this guy seemed to be itchin' for a fight and he wasn't about to back down now. "You're gonna regret messing with Popple, the Shadow Thief, ya hear? I'll give ya the ol' one two, ya see?!"

The monster turtle guy didn't get up to fight, however. He just sat cross-legged on the ground, staring at him with that blank look on his face. It seemed as if there was absolutely nothing going on in his brain. Popple lowered his guard a little bit, feeling a bit at a loss for words.

"The Shadow Thief? Wow... cool...." The weirdo said, staring at him with sparkly eyes. Popple's eyes widened. As a master thief, it was pretty much his job to never get caught off guard. It seemed that he had not yet perfected that skill.

"O-oh... uhh..." Popple rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "...yeah! I'm the greatest bandit that ever lived, see? Known all around the kingdom! So ya better scram, kid, 'cause I can't guarantee your safety if you hang around here."

"You're the coolest!" The guy shouted as he suddenly jumped to his feet. Popple was startled by the sudden movement and fell over onto his stomach. He was really getting tired of lying on the floor. "I want to be like you! A master evil-doer! That would be awesome!"

Popple didn't even bother getting up. He just raised his head up to look at the now very excitable turtle-weirdo, studying him closely. He was very large and scary looking, like nothing he had ever seen in this kingdom. He also seemed to be capable of packing a real punch. If he had someone like that on his side... then maybe...

Popple grinned, then started laughing. He leapt up back onto his feet again. "So, you're saying ya wanna join me, eh pal? Am I hearing ya right?"

"Yes Popple sir! I won't let you down, I promise!"

Popple stroked his chin with his fingers. "Hmm... I don't know... are you sure ya have what it takes, huh?" before the larger one could answer, Popple paced around him in a circle, still talking. "Any ol' bean can swipe a few loaves of bread from the store, but that's not what I'm after, see? To be my partner in crime, you can't be just any ol' bean. Ya know what you really need to go from petty thief to master bandit?"

"What?"

Popple stopped in front of him and jabbed him in the stomach with his index finger, to which the turtle guy barely reacted. Popple put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest. "You. Need. Guts."

The shelled fiend just blinked at him. Popple cracked a sly smile.

"Without guts, you ain't gettin' very far in this business, ya hear? You gotta want to be bad. You gotta _want_ this. If ya want somethin' bad enough, you'll find a way to get your grubby little hands on it. But first, you gotta have the guts to want it in the first place, see?"

Popple extended his gloved hand, the stupid grin on his face he could never control slowly getting larger. His beady yellow eyes stared down the monstrous freak with great intensity. "So, whaddaya say, greenhorn? Are ya in?"

The turtle stared at him for a few seconds, and in those few seconds time seemed to stand still. Popple was standing tall, his arm outstretched, still completely dripping wet and scuffed up from the action before. Despite this, he looked as mischievously pleased as ever, his eyes almost seeming to glow in the dim lighting. The other guy stood there with a bewildered expression on his face, eyeing the thief intently. For the briefest of moments, there seemed to be something else in his expression. Something that betrayed his not so intelligent appearance. Something that told Popple that he should be intimidated. His smile faltered ever so slightly.

Then, everything sprung into motion. The turtle guy grabbed Popple's hand, smiling like a little kid who had just convinced their exasperated parents to take them to a fast food restaurant instead of eating a home cooked meal. He shook his hand violently, and due to the large size difference between them, the turtle guy unintentionally took Popple's entire body with him. "Yes! Yes! I'm so excited to work with you!!" the weirdo cheered, still flinging the Beanish thief around like a ragdoll. Then, the monster-turtle-weirdo-freak threw the dazed Popple into the air, catching him and hugging him tightly, forcing all of the air out of his lungs. " _Thank you so much!!_ " Popple could barely even process what was happening to him, his mind was all scrambled and he felt like he was on the verge of passing out. Finally, just as his vision was going fuzzy, the turtle let him go from the most uncomfortable hug Popple had ever experienced in his life. Popple stumbled around, dizzy, before shaking his head and coming to.

"O-okay, firsts things first, Rookie, never do that again."

"Oh, sorry Popple, I just got so excited!"

Popple sighed, rubbing his temple. Was this really worth it? No going back now. He took his hat off of his head and rung it out like a dish cloth. "Second thing, I'm the boss now, ya hear? You do what I say. If I say jump you say how high, see?"

The turtle guy nodded.

"Aaand finally, ya got a name? Or should I just call ya Rookie?"

"Well... I... I can't remember my name. I can't remember anything at all, really."

"Ain't that a predicament? No worries, Rookie! I know this kingdom like the back of my hand, see? Just stick with me and ya won't find yourself going through the ringer."

"Yes, boss!" the newly named Rookie replied enthusiastically.

"Hmmm..." Popple mused to himself. "There's one thing missing..." He walked over to the corner of the room and dug through his thief bag before pulling out a large blue bandana. He couldn't even remember where he picked this up from. "Put this on, see?"

Rookie took the cloth from Popple and tied it around his head. It covered up his face and even went over his horns. Popple laughed.

"There we go! You're the spitting image of a crook. We're gonna go far, ya hear? Far."

Rookie smiled wide, even with a mouth of razor sharp teeth he still managed to look doofy. He cheered, slapping Popple on the back way too hard. The constant beating was finally too much for the bean. Popple collapsed onto the floor, completely conked out. "I can't wait to start, boss!" When Rookie was met with no response, he looked down to see Popple collapsed at his feet. "Boss? Are you alright?" Rookie knelt down to inspect the unconscious bean. He was just now realizing how small these little green guys were compared to him. "B-boss???"


End file.
